The Weekly Roundup: Phoenix and Chicago Advance and the Possible End of an Era
Chronicling Phoenix’s heart-stopping journey to the semifinals, including the possible end of Sue Bird’s career
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Whew. Has everyone caught their breath after the last four games of playoff basketball? The WNBA delivered an exciting first two rounds of basketball, as Phoenix and Chicago advanced past the unpredictable single-elimination rounds to face Las Vegas and Connecticut, respectively, in the semifinal best-of-five series. Sure, Phoenix playing a home playoff game at Grand Canyon University, suspect officiating, and the second-round single-elimination format are all issues the W needs to address. Nevertheless, Bird versus Taurasi (one last time), Chicago’s upset at Minnesota, and New York’s near-shocker at an electric GCU Arena all made for compelling TV. Speaking of the latter, let’s dive a bit deeper into Phoenix’s riveting path to the semifinals that began with a stiff challenge from a team almost no one gave a chance.
Phoenix survives New York’s valiant upset bid
Few WNBA observers gave New York any chance in Thursday night’s first-round game at Phoenix. 92% of the thousands of entries in ESPN’s WNBA Playoff Challenge picked the Mercury to advance. Despite Diana Taurasi’s absence due to injury, the sportsbook PointsBet still made Phoenix 10-point favorites. This was all for good reason. After all, the Liberty entered the postseason with the worst winning percentage (0.375) and net margin (-7.4 points per 100 possessions) of any playoff team in WNBA history. They entered the single-elimination playoff contest losers of 11 of their past 13 games. Given all of this, one might think New York would simply be content with its playoff berth and impressive turnaround from last season’s 2-20 debacle. Think again.
The Liberty put forth an inspired playoff performance that had it on the precipice of one of the biggest upsets in WNBA postseason history. Double-teaming Brittney Griner plus Phoenix’s ice-cold outside shooting proved an effective combination for New York’s defense for much of the contest. Griner, who shredded New York’s interior defense in their two regular-season meetings (averaging 27.5 points), was held to eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the first half. Excluding Griner, the Mercury shot an anemic 11-for-32 from the field in the first two quarters, allowing New York to take a 41-37 lead into halftime.
Enter Sophie Cunningham. Coming off the bench with Phoenix trailing 46-39 in the middle of the third quarter, the Mercury guard converted a 4-point play. She hit another triple less than a minute later. Then another three-pointer 38 seconds after that. Cunningham’s 10 points over a span of 1:34 helped transform a seven-point Mercury deficit into a one-point lead and a nervous GCU Arena crowd into deafening jubilation. Averaging 5.6 points per game, Cunningham provided a surprising and sorely-needed boost off the bench for Phoenix. She finished the quarter with 12 points, and Phoenix held a 60-58 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
“The energy just wasn’t there until the second half,” Cunningham told the Arizona Republic after the game. “You either win or you go home. Honestly my biggest thing was bring the energy, get the ball to Sky [Diggins-Smith] and BG [Brittney Griner] when they need it. But then I just kind of said screw it, I’m open, I’m shooting the ball and I was lucky enough mine were going in tonight.”
In a roller coaster of a fourth quarter that featured four lead changes and six ties, New York clung to a 79-77 advantage with under 1:30 left. Who else but Sophie Cunningham proceeded to drain a three. After a timely block by Brianna Turner on a driving Natasha Howard, Skylar Diggins-Smith dribbled the length of the court for a layup and an 82-79 Mercury lead with 50.6 seconds on the clock. Despite hitting just 31.2% of her threes this season, New York’s All-Star guard Betnijah Laney drained her third triple of the night, knotting the game up at 82 with just 2.7 seconds remaining. Phoenix’s screening action on the ensuing inbounds play created confusion for the Liberty’s defense. Brittney Griner then received the inbounds pass, recognized the double team, and found an open Brianna Turner under the basket. All Sami Whitcomb could do was foul. Turner hit one of two free throws, giving Phoenix an 83-82 lead. A Sabrina Ionescu three over the outstretched arms of Brittney Griner fell short at the buzzer, and GCU Arena erupted.
Survive and advance. Phoenix did just that Thursday night, converting enough of the opportunities created by the defensive attention Griner received and breaking out of their cold shooting spell just in time. Diggins-Smith led the Mercury with 22 points, including 15 in the second half. The Phoenix point guard assisted on or scored her team’s final eight points. Cunningham finished with 21 points, shooting 6-for-7 from long distance. Despite scoring four points below her season average, Griner still managed a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and was an effective distributor, tying her season-high with six assists. In addition to her key block on Natasha Howard in the game’s final minute and her game-winning free throw, Brianna Turner added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
New York’s effort was reminiscent of the squad that started the season 5-1 and immediately captured the league’s attention. It all started with the versatile offensive juggernaut that is Betnijah Laney. The 2020 Most Improved Player led all scorers with 25 points, demonstrated her ability to score in a multitude of ways, and showed why she’s one of the toughest players to guard in the W. Sabrina Ionescu was masterful in pick-and-roll action, threading the needle for multiple easy buckets. In typical Sabrina Ionescu fashion, the Liberty point guard filled the stat sheet versus Phoenix with 14 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds. Natasha Howard provided an interior offensive threat that has been missing for much of the season, recording a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards.
Phoenix eliminates Seattle in OT classic
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird failed to disappoint in what was perhaps the final meeting of their careers Sunday afternoon in the second round of the WNBA playoffs. While clearly still suffering the effects of her lingering ankle injury, Taurasi managed a 14-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound night while playing a staggering 33 minutes. Bird’s 16-point, 5-assist effort featured clutch shooting, near-impeccable decision-making, and veteran leadership - vintage Sue Bird. Their respective teams exchanged punches and counter-punches in a heavyweight battle that required more than the typical 40 minutes of action to decide the winner. Phoenix’s front-court dominance combined with Jewell Loyd’s historic shooting woes and Breanna Stewart’s absence proved too much for Seattle to overcome, as the Mercury advanced to face Las Vegas in the semifinals with an 85-80 overtime victory.
It was clear in the early-going that Seattle would attempt some semblance of New York’s first-round strategy of double-teaming Brittney Griner. It didn’t work quite as well for the Storm, as Griner (23 points, 16 rebounds) dropped six quick points in the game’s first 2:19, keying an early 11-2 Phoenix run. A Griner putback extended the Mercury’s lead to 12, 32-20 with 5:34 remaining in the first half.
Then, the defending champions compiled an 18-0 run that spanned the remainder of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. In what Seattle fans hoped was a harbinger of things to come, Loyd appeared to find her shooting touch, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers during the run.
However, there would be no repeat of Loyd’s 37-point explosion in the team’s previous meeting on September 17, far from it. The Seattle shooting guard finished the contest 5-for-24 from the field (15 points), setting a record for most missed field goal attempts in a playoff game. It’s less an indictment of Loyd and more the result of Phoenix’s defensive adjustments. Coach Sandy Brondello described these tweaks in more detail following her team’s second-straight heart-pounding playoff victory: “We know [Mercedes] Russell sets most of the screens, so we changed our matchup on that, so we could be a little more aggressive… We threw different people at her; it wasn’t just Skylar [Diggins-Smith] or Shey Peddy, Kia Nurse at times. We wanted to make sure she saw as many different looks as possible.”
No team held a lead greater than six points in the second half. There were five lead changes and four ties in the fourth quarter alone. One of those ties occurred when Sue Bird drilled a triple with one minute left in regulation to tie the score at 73 apiece. After a foul sent Skylar Diggins-Smith (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) to the line on the ensuing possession, the career 84.8% free-throw shooter inexplicably missed both free throws. With just under 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the game still tied, Seattle opted not to go two-for-one. Jewell Loyd waited until the end of the shot clock to attack the rim. Her layup missed its mark as did Ezi Magbegor’s follow-up, giving Phoenix one last chance to win the game in regulation. Mercedes Russell (10 points, 12 boards) rejected Skylar Diggins-Smith’s last-second attempt, and the national TV audience was treated to five more minutes of free basketball. Five more minutes of Taurasi vs. Bird.
Overtime started auspiciously enough for Seattle with a Katie Lou Samuelson triple, but a pivotal sequence beginning with the next Storm possession turned the tide. Samuelson found a seemingly wide-open Magbegor off a pick-and-roll. Validating her First Team All-Defense selection, Brianna Turner rotated and blocked Magbegor’s layup. Griner gathered the rejection, found Taurasi on the outlet pass, and the league’s all-time leading scorer splashed a game-tying three, transforming a potential 5-point Seattle lead into a 76-76 tie. The Storm would never see the lead again.
Is this the final chapter of Sue Bird’s storybook basketball career? Not knowing her plans for next season, Bird was visibly emotional as Seattle fans rained down chants of “one more year” during her postgame interview with Holly Rowe. Let’s selfishly hope this isn’t the end. Averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 assists per game, she’s somehow still playing at a high level at 40 years old. More importantly, she’s been so instrumental to the league’s growth and the development of its players (just ask Natasha Cloud). Speaking with Holly Rowe, Bird compared Taurasi’s performance Sunday afternoon to Willis Reed’s famous return from injury during Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals (don’t worry, Sue Bird, I’ve provided a link to your teammates who may be too young to understand the reference). Following that game, sportscaster Howard Cosell told Reed that he “exemplified the best the human spirit can offer.” As a competitor on the court and a social justice advocate and global ambassador for the game of basketball off the court, the same can be said of Sue Bird.
The great awards season debate
Over the weekend, the WNBA announced Sylvia Fowles as this season’s Defensive Player of the Year and also revealed its All-Defensive teams. As with any year-end award, a spirited debate ensued. Mystics coach Mike Thibault questioned why Natasha Cloud was left off the All-Defensive Teams. The fact that Las Vegas, a team ranked third in defensive rating, placed no players on the All-Defensive Teams perplexed Aces forward Dearica Hamby. Whether valid criticisms or not, another debate emerged regarding whether the media or players and coaches are best suited to decide year-end awards.
In previous seasons, coaches voted on the All-Defensive Teams, and the media selected the Defensive Player of the Year. Last season that arrangement resulted in a head-scratching situation, where Candace Parker won DPOY but was not selected to the First or Second Team All-Defense. That changed this season, with the media taking over the All-Defensive Teams selections. That removed the potential for the inconsistencies seen in 2020, yet it raised questions as to whether the media should be involved in the process at all. While welcoming the opportunity to vote herself, ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel explained that coaches “see defense in a more complete and nuanced way” and “there’s no way I know X’s and O’s the way coaches and players do.”
No system will be perfect, and it’s inevitable that some team will think its player was snubbed. Further compounding the issue is the relative lack of defensive metrics with which one can assess a player’s defense for award purposes. Therefore, it makes little sense that the individuals arguably most qualified to determine the season’s best defenders - players and coaches - currently have no say in the evaluation process.
Her Hoop Stats expands reSEARCH tool functionality
Which franchise has risen to the occasion with its back against the wall and won the most playoff games when facing elimination? Which player is so clutch that she has the most playoff double-doubles in round/series-clinching games? Who has the record for most points in a first-round playoff game? The Her Hoop Stats team has now made it much easier to answer these and many more playoff-related questions by expanding the functionality of the site’s reSEARCH tool.
WNBA schedule this week (All times Eastern)
Here is a listing of this week’s semifinal games, start times, and where you can catch the action.
Her Hoop Stats content in case you missed it
It was a double dose of Courtside this past week! In the first episode, Christy Winters-Scott, Gabe Ibrahim, and Calvin Wetzel broke down the first and second-round matchups of the WNBA playoffs and offered their picks to win it all. Christy and Gabe dropped a second episode where they dove into their end-of-season award picks.
September 19 was the final day contract extensions could be signed until 2022, so we now have a better idea of the upcoming free agent class. From reserved players to the core designation, Richard Cohen explained the ins and outs of WNBA free agency and provided a list of this offseason’s free agents.
Will Connecticut finally receive the respeCT it deserves and capture the franchise’s first WNBA title? Can the Mercury parlay their recent 10-game winning streak into a deep postseason run? Aneela Khan, Gabe Ibrahim, Calvin Wetzel, James Hyman, and I answered these questions and more as they provided their WNBA playoff predictions.
In a special awards edition of WNBA Dissected, Richard Cohen explained his selections for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-WNBA teams, and other end-of-season honors.
In the latest installment of his series on the ins and outs of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Jacob Mox explained hardship contracts and the prominent role they played this season.
Other recommended content
Using his championships added metric, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton offered his ranking of the 25 greatest players in WNBA history.
For The Undefeated, Aaron Dodson and Nick DePaula provided the stories behind the nine WNBA players who have had a signature basketball sneaker.
In 2006, Jonquel Jones was a 12-year old who had just transitioned her focus from soccer to basketball. 15 years later, she is poised to win WNBA MVP. Ben Osborne described this remarkable journey for Just Women’s Sports.
Professional sports leagues’ COVID-19 vaccination efforts have had mixed success. With over 99% of its players vaccinated, the WNBA is the gold standard on this front. For Sports Illustrated, Emma Baccellieri explained how the W accomplished this feat.
Chantel Jennings of The Athletic covered how Candace Parker learned the importance of financial security and how the Sky star wants to be an entrepreneurial trailblazer for future generations of female athletes.
Myles Ehrlich of Nets Republic spoke with Liberty guard DiDi Richards about the challenges she faced transitioning to the WNBA and the confidence she has gained shooting the three ball.
Natalie Weiner of The New York Times described how Seimone Augustus used her platform as a WNBA superstar to advocate for LGBTQ rights and against police brutality.
WNBA trivia question of the week
Who is the only player in league history to win WNBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP all in the same season?
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